Her Choice
by brower47
Summary: Sesshoumaru offers Rin a choice. Stay or go but in order to stay, she must become less of a distraction.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a silly, little fic that originally started out as just a PWP. I wrote this several years ago and have decided to repost it. I've tried to clean up some of the writing mistakes I made the first time around but as always, I'm sure I didn't get them all. Please try to enjoy it despite them.

Her Choice

Chapter 1

Sesshoumaru looked at his young ward. After all of these years, he still found her traveling dutifully at his side, even if she had never done much more than break up the monotonous routine that had long ago become his life. It had been almost twelve summers since he brought her broken body back from the land of the dead. She had matured long ago and by human standards, she was well into the years when she should be baring young of her own. She was as clueless as to what that entailed as she had been the day her travels began with him. The only things she knew that indicated a change from her childhood were the less than subtle changes her now grown body had sustained. She no longer had the flat, unisex lines of a little girl but was now fully filled out with the body of a woman ready to begin the process of childbirth. The rest of her body was pleasing to the male eye as well. She was small and firm. Her muscles were nicely toned by the years of nearly constant travels. Her breasts were sized appropriately with her body though he had not seen them unclothed in quite some time.

He'd stopped his casual checks of her body when he noticed the effect it started to have on him. He was a male after all and she was female. The fact that he had once known her as a young child did nothing to alleviate such natural urges in youkai. It was not uncommon for beings with life spans as long as his to see many females grow from nothing more than pups at their mother's breast, to then mature and wind up rutting with them. The same could be said for the females. Age, as long as a partner was sexually mature, didn't matter when it came to matters of instinct and instinct dominated the lives of creatures like himself.

In the beginning it had been easy to ignore her quickly maturing body. She was still quite young when she began to bleed monthly and she still had not possessed all of the attributes that a fully mature female would but lately... she had become distracting. Her innocent movements did not seem as innocent anymore even though he knew for a fact that she was not trying to beguile him in any way. She had no idea what sex was and only had a rough understanding of the differences that separated males from females. He recalled the time she had inquired about her growing breasts.

"_Lord Sesshoumaru, why aren't yours puffy like mine?"_

"_I am male Rin."_

And that had been the extent of that conversation. Rin knew him well enough not to press any matter even if she didn't fully understand. She had seen what happened to Jaken when he became too bold and she had long ago endeavored to never be the annoying creature that he was. Rin knew that Jaken, while annoying, served his master well in a necessary capacity. She also knew that she didn't really have a role to play, so becoming annoying would not be something her master would allow her as he did Jaken. She was clueless and ignorant about many aspects of life but that didn't make her a fool, a matter that made him content to allow her to continue to follow them around on his travels.

He sat across the fire that Jaken had built against a tree in his usual sitting position. One leg stretched out, the other bend at the knee to provide his arm a place to rest. He watched as Rin busied herself with tending to Ahun. The animal really didn't need the attention but it did enjoy what she lavished on it daily. It would have served him faithfully without it but since it did no harm, he allowed the beast its luxury.

She was once again nearing her peak fertility and it was again becoming a distraction. Then her bleeding would immediately follow and that would attract unwanted attention to the little group. He'd be forced to stay closer than he normally would to ensure his retainers did not meet with an untimely demise as a result. He should have sent her away a long time ago. She not only presented a distraction to his all too male senses but she also was a liability to the group in general. Something had to be done. She could no longer be the pure drain on the company she kept. She needed to contribute in some way or he would have to leave her with her own kind.

"Jaken."

"Yes my lord?" The little toad scurried over to his master's call.

"Leave the clearing for the evening; I do not want to see you again until the morning."

Jaken looked upset by the unexpected send off but dutifully turned to gather his things anyway. He turned to Rin who was still tending to Ahun even though she had heard what her master had said. She didn't become involved in any of the master's dealings unless she was spoken to directly.

"Come on Rin, you heard Lord Sesshoumaru, we're leaving."

Now she turned and moved to gather her things as well but was stopped by her lord's voice.

"No Jaken. I want only you to leave. Rin will stay here."

Jaken couldn't help but feel a bit put out by that information but he kept his thoughts to himself. He muttered something about stupid humans as he walked out of the camp. When Sesshoumaru knew he was well out of hearing range, he spoke again.

"Rin, come here." She immediately set down what she was doing and trotted over to her lord. She was suddenly nervous. This was not something that Sesshoumaru-sama had ever done before. It was unlike him do something new and unusual and this situation of Jaken being sent away and not her, was both.

"Yes my lord." She said once she reached him, rendering a polite bow at the same time.

"I am going to offer you a choice Rin. But first I will explain the situation." She nodded her head as she became even more nervous than she was before. `A choice, about what?' She thought to herself before he began again.

"You have become a distraction to this Sesshoumaru." He began, noticing the look of utter horror on the young woman's face. "You have changed from a pup into a mature female and that is what has caused this situation we now face."

Even though she knew she shouldn't, she tried to defend herself. "My lord, Rin did not want to change."

"I know."

"I will change back to the way I was."

"That is not possible Rin. You know this as well as I do. Do not insult this Sesshoumaru or yourself with such ridiculous notions."

Rin fell silent, a sense of dread settling over her. She always feared that one day he would send her away. She could think of nothing that frightened her more, not even wolves scared her as much as the idea of him leaving her. She fought to hold the tears back.

"You're going to send me away?" She asked even though she knew she was once again speaking out of line. It didn't really seem to matter at the moment though. The worst thing she could imagine was about to happen, what did it matter if she didn't follow his unspoken rules a closely as she once did.

"Rin." He spoke her name a fraction louder than his normal tone of speech. That immediately got her attention. "You will listen to what I have to say before you speak again, do you understand?"

She nodded, not even daring to voice her response.

"Good. Now then, you have become a distraction because you are sexually mature." He ignored her confused gaze. He expected it and would explain in greater detail in a moment. "Actually you have been for some time now but I have decided that I cannot allow you to continue to travel with me without making some changes in the way that you serve me."

Rin suddenly felt some amount of hope. He could just change the way in which she served him and stay? That would be easy. She would cut off her own feet in order to stay. Anything he asked of her would be preferable to being left behind. She didn't speak since he had commanded her specifically not to but she eagerly nodded her head.

He couldn't help but feel an amount of pride in her response. She was so loyal to him that she would do anything he asked. However, that did not change the way he planned on handling this situation. Even though he was sure she would comply without complaint, he would not do this unless she understood exactly what it was he was going to ask of her. There could be no misunderstandings.

"In order for your distraction to this Sesshoumaru to cease, I will require you to sate my sexual desires upon." Again he knew she didn't understand but she was once again shaking her head in the affirmative. "Rin," She stopped shaking her head. "do not agree to what I am saying until you know what it is I am asking."

She didn't see much the point to that but remained still anyway. After all, she had already cemented in her own mind that she was willing to do anything he asked, no matter what it entailed.

"Do you know what I mean when I say that I will sate my sexual desires with you?" He knew very well that she did not.

"No, my lord." She blushed, not because of the subject matter, after all you can't be embarrassed about the content of the subject if you don't know what it entails but she blushed because he had made her admit that she had no idea what he was talking about. She didn't like admitting to ignorance in front of him. The very word `sexual' he was using was one she had never even heard before.

"I will show you. After I have explained, only then can you tell me if you agree to do this. If you do not, then I will find you a suitable human family to live the rest of your days with. Do you understand?"

"Yes my lord." The mention of being left with a human family, once again brought up the terrible sense of dread. It didn't matter what he showed her, she would do it. She knew that it must be difficult or painful in some way. If it wasn't, why would he make such a big deal out of making sure she understood before letting her say she would stay or leave? She was disappointed that he believed anything could make her want to leave his side. Even death was preferable.

"Come here and sit beside this Sesshoumaru." She dutifully and eagerly obeyed. Once she sat down, he did something that confused her. He began to untie the bindings that held his pants in place. Once he finished untying them, he removed something strange from inside. At first she didn't even realize that it was a part of him until he spoke.

"This is something that males have that females do not." Her eyes widened. She most certainly didn't have anything like that. She had a crack that started in the front and ended in the back. She didn't have the soft looking `thing' that he held in his hand right now. She was suddenly even more confused about what he was trying to explain. What did this part of him have to do with anything? Again, she didn't say anything as he was not finished in his explanation. She only hoped that at the end of this she would know what he was talking about.

"Even though females do not have this, they have a place were this goes." Her eyes widened once again. "And not when it looks like this." Now she was really confused, as if she hadn't been before. She hadn't noticed that he was stroking said strange piece of flesh until he mentioned it again. To her utter and complete astonishment, it looked as though it were getting bigger and... harder? That couldn't be the case. Nothing on her got bigger if she touched it, at least she didn't think there was.

"Where you bleed from each month; that is where this goes." Now she blushed a little. She didn't like talking about when she bled. She didn't know why but it had always embarrassed her. It did even though the first time it had happened, Lord Sesshoumaru had told her that it was natural and happened to all females. "That is what I want to do with you Rin, I want to put this there from time to time when I feel the desire to do so. Do you understand?"

She looked at the part of him that still seemed to be growing. It seemed so much bigger than it was when he first showed it to her. Unthinking, Rin pulled up her kimono and spread her legs. She wanted to see exactly where he wanted to put that thing. She just didn't remember a spot down there were anything that size would fit. She had no idea what her innocent action did to the youkai sitting next to her.

He had already worked himself into a mild state of arousal by stroking himself in full view of this female that he had already decided would serve nicely in such a capacity. Now she was exposing herself to his eyes and that served to fully engorge his already stiff member.

"Are you sure that there is a place that it can go in me?" She was still looking at herself, lightly prodding her folds in hopes of finding something that she just hadn't noticed before.

"I am sure." Her head popped up at the tone of his voice and not the words. She had never heard him speak like that before. His voice was deeper, almost strained sounding. It didn't frighten her but it did make her take notice. The other `thing' she couldn't help but notice was the flesh he had ceased stroking. It had gotten noticeably bigger since she first moved to inspect herself.

"Will it fit? I don't see anyplace down there that could possibly fit that."

"It will fit. It will most likely hurt the first time few times but eventually it would cease to pain you."

Rin nodded. That was why he was explaining all this to her. She was right. It would be something that hurt but if it was only the first couple of times, that didn't seem like such a big deal if it allowed her to continue to stay with him.

"If we do that, you will let me stay?" It was his turn to nod, words were becoming more difficult. "Then I am willing. Did you want to do that now?" Again he just shook his head. "Is there anything I need to do?"

"Remove your clothing." His voice had the same strange tenor to it. She dutifully complied and he too began to remove his cloths. She stared at his body when they were both completely nude. They looked basically the same when clothed but nude, they were like night and day. He was all hard lines and muscle where she was soft and curvy. She decided that she liked the way he looked.

He stood and arranged his fur to create a makeshift bed. "Come here." She again complied. She had no idea what to expect except pain but it didn't deter her. Once she was by him, he gently turned her away from him and put pressure on her shoulders. She took it for what it was, a command to get down on her knees. Once she was there, she noticed that he had followed her down to the ground and that impossibly large organ was poking her in the buttocks. Next he urged her down onto her hands and she complied. Then he moved away from her. She just stayed there for a few moments, wondering what he was going to do next. She didn't know that he was simply admiring the view she had presented to him with no opposition what so ever.

She couldn't help the small squeak that escaped her lips at what she felt next. Instead of something hard, something hot and wet suddenly attacked the spot she had just been looking around in search of a hole that his organ would fit into. He was licking her down there! To her surprise, what he was doing now, another action she didn't understand, did not hurt at all and sometimes when he went to one specific spot, it actually felt really good. It caused a tingling warmth to flood her lower region.

He continued on with his licking for several more minutes and added what had to be a finger to the spot he must be planning to put his organ, causing her to feel things she never thought were possible. Suddenly, the coil snapped and her whole body exploded into a blinding pleasure that caused her to actually cry out. It took a few seconds but she finally came back to herself to find Sesshoumaru kneeling behind her and bending over her on his hand and knees just as she was but he was so much larger than she was, the position was easy for him to assume.

"This will hurt." He said as he positioned himself at her entrance. He saw her nod her head dumbly, still recovering from the orgasm he had given to her. He had debated the best approach and had decided that proceeding slowly would be the most prudent. He pushed his member against her opening but she naturally moved forward in response to his pressure.

"No, stay still." She nodded again but this time maintained her position as he pressed himself against her. For the longest time it seemed as though she might be right, he wasn't going to fit. Just as that thought passed through his mind, the head slipped passed the first set of muscles.

Rin whimpered as the pain of being stretched hit her. He was right, it did **hurt**! She tried not to cry out as he continued to press deeper into her but she just couldn't help it. She wasn't used to feeling pain. He kept her safe from that but now he was the one causing it. She didn't see how this wouldn't always hurt. He was shoving something so large into something that was obviously smaller. Still, to stay, she would endure it.

He stopped for a moment. Rin thought that maybe it was over but suddenly the pain became so much more. He suddenly thrust all the way into her and she was sure something inside of her had torn. This time she cried out loudly and tears ran down her cheeks at the pain. Then he stilled.

He was fully sheathed within her and he knew she was in pain. Unfortunately it was not something that could be avoided. He just repeated to himself that this was not something she would have to experience each time, only the first few encounters or so.

Now she was praying that he was done. She could feel his hips against her buttocks. He had to be all the way in the way in then. But the words he spoke next shattered that hope.

"I'm going to move inside of you now. I won't make it last long." She bit her lip for the impending pain.

He pulled nearly all of the way out before pushing himself back in. He heard her whimper and yet didn't. The feeling was too exquisite. After a few slow thrusts for her benefit, he lost himself in the feeling of her warm embrace and sped up. Soon he was rutting into her with abandon, completely unaware of the whimpering, pained human female beneath him.

Gods it hurt so badly. She just kneeled there, waiting, hoping that he would not want to do this for much longer. She heard his grunts and his unintelligible exclamations as he continued to pound into her. Fortunately for her, it wasn't much longer that she had to wait. She was so tight and he hadn't taken a female in so long that he simply wouldn't have lasted all that long even if he'd wanted to.

Rin felt him stiffen above her, let out a feral sounding growl and then shudder above her with very shallow thrusts.

Spent, he barely remembered to hold himself up to keep from crushing her under his weight. After a few moments, he pulled himself out of her and he didn't miss the shudder and whimper that fell from her lips at the action. She collapsed the moment he moved away, utterly exhausted by the evening's emotional and physical trials. He walked over to the packs on Ahun's back and pulled out a rag. He wet it with water that she had gathered from the nearby river earlier when they had first stopped for the night. With the wet cloth in hand, he moved over to her prone form. He carefully removed the blood and semen from their joining. She would heal.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Next Morning

She was uncomfortable, so her semiconscious body began to adjust itself in order to find a better position. The moment it did, her eyes shot open as the simple discomfort turned into a full-blown throbbing between her legs. She let a small groan escape her lips as she very gingerly sat up. 'Why am I so...' she thought to herself and then the memory hit her. Her eyes then immediately scanned the camp for her lord, terrified that she had perhaps not given him what he desired and had left her here, alone, as a result.

Fortunately her first terrifying thought of the day was quickly squashed. Though she didn't see her Lord Sesshoumaru or Jaken, Ahun was exactly where he should be in the mornings as were all of the supplies he normally carried.

She had not been left behind.

She stood up from her normal sleeping place beside the fire. `He must have put me here last night.' She thought as she rose. It hurt to stand but she needed to fetch water for Ahun. The first step she took made her eyes shut tightly. Suddenly, the small jaunt to the river didn't seem so short but rather, it had suddenly become a dreadfully long journey. Rin steeled herself, took a deep calming breath and began with small shuffling steps toward the bucket and then down to the river.

During the seemingly much longer trip to fetch water, she reflected on her strange new task. `I hope he doesn't want to do that too often.' She thought to herself. She shuddered when she thought of the pain it caused last night and the subsequent pain she was feeling right now. She had never known of him doing it before with any other female. She had been with him for so many summers now and he had never asked this of her before. Maybe it was something he rarely did and she really didn't have much to worry about. That thought gave her some comfort as she neared the river's edge. It wasn't until she stepped into the water and saw a light pink tinge floating off with the current that she realized that she was bleeding.

She quickly tossed the bucket she had been carrying to the shore only a couple feet away and hiked her kimono up around her waist. Running down her leg was a thin trickle of blood. She smeared some of the red, viscous liquid onto her fingertips and brought it close to her face for inspection. `It doesn't look like...' Then she sniffed it. No, it was definitely not _that_ blood. `I must be hurt from last night." She waded the few steps back to the shore and pulled her summer kimono off of her body and neatly folded it, placing it on a large rock that sat slightly off the rivers edge. She then sat down, spread her legs and inspected herself in an attempt to find the injury. But try as she might, she could not see where the blood was coming from and with her no longer walking, the tiny flow had stopped all together.

`It must be inside of me.' She thought sourly. She didn't like the idea of being hurt inside one bit but there was nothing she could do but crouch in the water and clean what she could of herself. She was relieved to find the cold water very soothing on her abused sex. After rinsing, she just sat there crouched in the water; welcoming the relief it promised from the discomfort she had been experiencing. After several minutes she finally decided that she had better get back to camp. Ahun needed his morning water and she wanted to get back before anyone wondered where she was, if they were even back yet. So she gathered the liquid and just as gingerly as before, began the trudge back to camp.

When she finally arrived, one of her traveling companions had already returned.

"Rin, where have you..." the last word just toppled awkwardly out of his mouth, "been?" Jaken looked at her with the most quizzical expression that she had ever seen him use and it left her with a disconcerted feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then his eyes widened marginally before he abruptly turned back to the task of packing up the campsite.

Rin was at a loss for words. That was it? Even on days she wasn't gone for too long, Jaken always had something nasty to say to her. This morning there was no `worthless human' or `lazy female'. Just the strangely asked, `Where have you been?' and he didn't even seem interested in hearing her response. She wasn't sure how to take it. She was so used to the normal routine that she just stood there for a few moments before gathering her wits about her once again and resumed lugging the bucket over to Ahun. Once there, she set it down and just blankly watched as the two heads took turns gulping down the refreshing liquid. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the return of the white clad, silver haired youkai.

She wasn't aware of the way he just looked at her as she tended to the animal or the way that Jaken in turn looked at him. Silence reigned over the little camp until Jaken piped up.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, the camp is fully packed and ready for departure."

The sound of his voice and the mention of their lord's name made Rin spin on her heal. Something she instantly regretted as her soreness came back ten fold at the unexpected and ill-advised quick movement. Her eyes scrunched together in pain of their own accord before she even had a chance to see her lord. They stayed that way until they snapped open at being lifted off the ground by a strong set of arms.

"My Lord?" Was all she was able to squeak out before he sat her, sitting sideways, on the back of Ahun.

"Quiet Rin." Was all he gave her in reply. The events that followed stunned Rin more than anything her lord had ever done before, including the previous night's encounter. He proceeded to part her robes and her legs with the same movements one might use to open a pack and look for some needed item.

Rin's face flushed a light red when Sesshoumaru bent down and pulled back the folds of her recently used sex. She looked down to see him lightly prodding her. Even the light touches he was using caused a couple of whimpers to escape from her lips. Then she watched as he slid a single digit inside of her. That caused a small yelp to escape. When he removed his finger, the pale flesh was marred with a small amount of red.

"Jaken," he suddenly spoke, "bring me two rags, one damp, the other dry."

Only then did Rin look up to see Jaken staring right at her and what her lord was doing. The little imp wore a smirk on his face before he turned to fetch the items. Now Rin's face was no longer the light blush she wore only moments ago but a full-blown mask of crimson. She couldn't explain why she felt the way she did now. She didn't understand why Jaken seeing her like this or why the look on his face made her feel...exposed. All she was sure of, the feeling wasn't a good one.

She was pulled out of her newfound embarrassment by the cold voice of her lord.

"You will ride like this on Ahun until you heal." Rin nodded her head in compliance but couldn't help the question she asked next.

"Will it always make me bleed?"

He looked at her then, as stoically as he ever looked at anyone and for the first time, it bothered her.

"Once you heal, it would only do this again when I'm rough with you. That shouldn't be too often."

Rin audibly gulped. `when I'm rough with you', `shouldn't be _**too**_ often?'

"You will be healed in a week or two. You will not perform for me again until then."

`A week or two', so much for the notion that this was not something he did very often. She shivered when he pressed the wet cloth between her legs but it wasn't from the coolness of it. Sesshoumaru rinsed away the fresh bleeding he had caused and then pressed the dry cloth between her legs. Once he had it in its desired position, he then closed her legs around it and readjusted her kimono back as it had been originally. He said nothing else to her as they started out but sent an order to the dragon that carried the small human female upon its back.

"Ahun, walk steadily. I wish for her to heal."

Rin glanced to Jaken after Sesshoumaru said this and once again saw the almost smug expression on the little toads face that she so wanted to smack off of it.

XxX

AN: Thank you very much to Gonzo8886 and icegirljenni for leaving reviews for this little fic. I really appreciate that you take the time to let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I think I need to lay down some background for this story. It was written back in 2006 and I have still only made it about halfway through season 4 of Inu Yashsa. I've heard mention that Rin is sent to live with Kaede. I wasn't aware of that in the canon and so it doesn't apply here. Also, Jaken is probably the most occ character in this story. He's pretty much a huge jerk. I really tried to keep Rin and Sess true to character. I hope that clears up a little bit of confusion. I probably should have said all this before but now it's out there. Also, this was written before I realized that 'head jumping' in fics could be confusing to readers and my revisions aren't going to correct that. Mostly I'm just trying to fix grammatical errors. Also, I'm adding review responses to the end of each chapter; hope you all don't mind too much.

Chapter 3

Jaken's Thoughts

Rin sat against a log as she watched Jaken scurry about preparing the evening's meal for the both of them. Her lord had once again left the campsite, as was his normal habit in the evenings, sometimes not returning until after she had fallen asleep. He had not touched her intimately again since the morning he checked her body for injury. She was fairly certain that he could check her condition by scent alone since at the end of the day. Each time he pulled her off of Ahun, he would take a pointed sniff at her and then inform Jaken that he would be carrying out all of the camp setup for the evening again. He would then instruct her that she was not to move about much.

It was strange, not helping with the setup, and somehow it made her feel even more useless than she had before. She just sat there until it was time to eat, then she would eat and not long after she would find herself falling asleep, more due to boredom than out of sleepiness. Each day that passed, the more restless she became.

Jaken walked up to Rin and placed a simply woven mat on her lap that held her daily helping of fish. Then he did the unusual; he sat right next to her with his fish. The young woman looked at him for a few moments before shrugging off the strange event and began to pick at her food. She was anxious to be allowed to move about again. She always preferred to do the cooking since Jaken never cooked the fish to her liking. It was always a little on the raw side for her tastes but since there was nothing she could do about it; she wearily began to pull the scales from the nutritious flesh below. Just as she placed the first morsel in her mouth, Jaken spoke.

"So...I've never spoken with a Lord's plaything. Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked as though it were the most natural thing to say while eating a fish out in the open wilderness.

Rin sputtered on her mouthful, inhaled a small piece and started to cough as a result. She turned to Jaken, still amid her coughing fit, to find him smugly smacking on a piece of fish as though nothing unusual had been said. And then he continued, not bothering to wait for any type of reply from the still stunned and recovering woman.

"I always wondered why he picked you up in the first place. He would never deign to explain , but I guess now I have my answer, don't I?" He took another bite of fish and pulled a bone out of his mouth as he did so, ignoring the line of grease that dribbled off his chin.

His first comment forgotten, Rin immediately wanted to know what he meant by the second. "What answer do you have?" She asked in a tone that was a shade quieter than normal and it only seemed to brighten the already gleaming mood of the imp.

"Isn't it obvious? Our master picked you up as a youngling so that he could be assured that you were untouched." He took another bite of fish and continued, little bits flying out of his mouth as he spoke. "He must have grown tired of all these females that make themselves available to any youkai of any real standing. He obviously wanted to have a young, inexperienced bitch all to himself and what better choice than an orphaned little human girl. He knew you'd grow into a tempting morsel and when the time was right...well, you're more than acquainted with the rest of that line of thought."

Rin completely forgot that she had been about to eat. Everything he said did make perfect sense but it was too… uncomfortable to think about. It just made her feel lowly for reasons she just couldn't put words to. "B-but...Lord Sesshoumaru, he..."

"Cares for you?" He raised one eyebrow. "Oh most certainly, I'm sure he cares for you very nearly as much as he cares for Ahun. After all, Ahun carries all his supplies and you operate in a similar capacity... by carrying his lusts. I'm sure when Ahun was young he could not carry the load he does today, just as you could not service our master until you properly developed."

Rin's mouth stood agape as he went on. Shouldn't she be happy about this? After all, didn't this mean that she would always be important enough to keep around? Then why did every word that Jaken said make her feel smaller and smaller with each syllable that he uttered?

"Though I don't believe he was entirely pleased with you."

That statement made Rin perk back to life. No matter how Jaken made her feel about her new duty but it absolutely petrified her to think that she had failed in some way.

"What!" She was now afraid that she might be left alone after all. Her head hurt from the conflicting feelings this little conversation was having on her psyche. It horrified her to think that she had gone through all this pain for nothing. Even though the idea that, `what had Jaken called it? Their lord's _lusts_' were her only reason for being here in the first place was less than thrilling, the idea of now being left behind...

"Humans are so weak. He takes you once and look at you... worthless, even more so than you were before. He can't even sate himself again until you heal and who knows how long that will take. Humans are so fragile!" Jaken looked up at the quivering woman when he smelled her tears. "And you had best stop that right now. You know he doesn't like it when you make those and with the way you've performed thus far... well I doubt your tears will help your current situation." He smiled again when she began to furiously wipe what few tears had escaped away from her eyes. It was too easy for him but he continued on anyway. It served as a nice form of payback for all the times she got him into trouble.

"But since it hurt you so badly, you must have been exceeding tight for him eh? That must be why he's keeping you around for the moment. You must have squeezed him well enough."

"Please stop." She whispered out as she kept wiping her eyes but it did no good.

"You wouldn't have been any good for me but I've had my share of innocent females my size to know how nice it feels. In fact, maybe that's where he's been getting off to these last few nights, looking for another unwanted little human female to travel with us so he can have her one day when she's old enough too."

"Jaken, please stop." Again, it had no effect.

"Come to think of it, that would work out rather well I think. You could take care of her until she's of age and then you can explain to her exactly why our lord keeps her here. You _will_ be the best suited since you'll have experienced it all first hand..."

"JAKEN, SHUT UP!" Now that got his attention. He just smiled though and stood with his platter filled only with bones in hand.

"Well, I can see that you are in quite the foul mood. Excuse me for trying to have a pleasant dinner conversation. I didn't know that becoming a _**whore**_ would make you so high and mighty." And with that little morsel said, he walked off, trying not to laugh his little ass off right then and there and ruin all the fun he'd just created for himself.

`What did he call me...a `whore'?' She thought to herself. She'd never heard the term before but it didn't sound like a compliment with the way he'd spat it out at her. She'd been uncertain about her new role before but now she felt absolutely horrible about it.

xXx

icegirljenni: I've created an overly evil Jaken in this story because I needed an antagonist. So far, I've shown that Sess isn't cruel, he's just practical. A little too practical for someone as innocent and trusting as Rin but he's not acting out of cruelty. She's his ward and it would be dishonorable for him (in my opinion) to harm her beyond what he sees as reasonable. He prizes his honor above all else and he won't dishonor himself by acting that way. I hope that gives you some insight into the how I view Sess.

Gonzo8886: Yeah, he cares but like I said, he's just practical about how he shows it. He's not a guy that shows his emotions to the outside world for the most part.

Linelly: Jaken is hopefully the only ooc character in this fic. I know he's not evil in the series and even though he can be a little mean from time to time, he's shown that he also cares for her in his own way. That's not the Jaken I've crafted here. I kept all the negative aspects of him and tossed all the positive. I hope though, that you and everyone else that reads this, thinks that Sess and Rin are in character. We'll see.

Happy reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lost Nightmares

Sesshoumaru returned to camp late in the evening, long after his retainers had fallen off to sleep. Everything looked as it should, exactly the way he preferred it. He did not welcome inconsistency and changes in routine while out on patrol. Quiet, uneventful days spoke of a well-maintained and solid border between his lands and those of both his allies and his enemies.

That did not mean, however, that any changes he chose to make were unwelcome. He was the Lord of the Western Lands and with that title and responsibility, too came freedom to change whatever it he saw fit. Case in point, Rin.

The first time he considered laying with her, he had nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity of such a whim. She was human after all and hadn't he been the one to speak ill of such creatures in the past? However, his Rin had never really been on his mind when he spoke such words. So it seemed, as the seasons passed, each time the notion manifested itself into his thoughts it became more and more feasible. After nearly two years of internal debate, he had not come up with one solid reason why he shouldn't, besides her humanity. It wasn't just toleration he felt towards her, but something else entirely.

Whatever it was he felt when it came to that woman, physical attraction was the most obvious, easiest to name and simplest to deal with. He had found his attraction to her curious at first, as he didn't find himself inclined toward many females, human or not. He had always considered himself somewhat discriminating when it came to the fairer sex, so finding his Rin to be among those was, to put it plainly...interesting. She didn't display the same characteristics that he usually favored in his consorts. She wasn't demure or provocative as were most of his conquests but rather she lay on the opposite end of the sexual spectrum. She embodied innocence.

In the end, his desire to bed her won out over any objections he might have had pertaining to her humanity. He had given her the choice but it had been an exercise in the extraneous. He knew she would stay no matter what he asked of her but not asking would have been dishonorable, a level to which he would never stoop.

Taking quick inventory of the camp, he noted that Rin slept not by the fire, as she was apt to do but rather huddled against the ever-vigilant gaze of Ahun. In reality, the beast rarely slept. At any one time, at least one of the heads remained awake and watchful, especially while they were out on patrol. Only when they were back within the confines of the fortress did he ever witness the beast fully asleep.

Jaken slept as he usually did, against a rock or tree stump, reclined in sleep rather than lying completely down. Tonight he had chosen the face of the cliff they made camp beside. Sesshoumaru couldn't be sure but he was nearly positive that the imp's manner of sleeping was a mimic of the way Sesshoumaru himself chose to rest while out in the vast wilderness of his domain. Jaken did nearly anything he could to curry favor with him, even in matters as trivial as the sleeping arrangements he chose. Sesshoumaru supposed that he could take his mimicry as a form of flattery but rather he just found it slightly annoying. The toad always managed to find a way to get on his nerves. If he hadn't served him so dutifully and without question over the past century, he probably would have sent him away long ago.

Casually, but with a deftness that only he possessed, he made his way over to his human servant. When he neared her, his delicate senses caught the smell of salt, and not the kind used to season their rather bland traveling diet of bread and fish. Instead, it was a scent that he only ever encountered when his young ward became overwhelmed with her human emotions.

He lifted an eyebrow at this. What could have caused such a display? It was not overpowering so whatever caused it was short lived. Perhaps it had been in one of her no longer common fits of laughter. There had been times in the past where she would simply laugh so hard at something she found comical, that her eyes would water. The scent of the tears was the same whether sadness, pain or joy that caused them; so there was no way for him to determine their cause.

It was a pleasant thought if it were the latter. She had not acted so freely in some time, as age had granted her a quieter demeanor than she possessed as a child. And she most certainly had not acted in such a manner since he bedded her for the first time. He didn't place too much in her low attitude of late since she had been confined to Ahun's back for over a week. She had never been one to just ride around and enjoy the scenery from afar. As long as he had known her, she had always made herself apart of the scenery as they traveled, collecting the most ridiculous items to display to the rest of the troupe that evening.

Taking a quiet sniff of her sleeping form, he determined that she was healing rather well considering what her small human body had undergone. Though he had no previous experience with humans in that way, he was rather sure that she had been rather small even for her human heritage. Just entering her had caused damage to her delicate body. There was also the unbelievable fact that she had still been intact, which only added to her pain and the time it would require for her to heal fully. She was now healed well enough that she could move about on her own without causing herself further injury but his wait to partake of her again would be much longer in coming. In truth, that was only a mild irritation. He had not rutted a female in over a year before his decision to take her as his mistress. Abstaining from the activity another moon would not be difficult in the least by comparison.

He was pulled out of his line of thought when Rin mumbled something unintelligible and developed a rather troubled expression over her once calm expression. He knelt down closer to her in an attempt to make out the somewhat emphatically mumbled half words and phrases that slipped passed her lips.

"…I wan…no…" Then her expression returned to its earlier placid countenance though she continued to mutter strangled words in an even softer tone. Now Sesshoumaru leaned in even closer in an attempt to hear her words.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then, in one loud declaration that, incredibly enough, managed to slightly startle the Lord of the Western Lands, she screamed.

"NO!"

Her eyes shot open as her own loud exclamation roused her out of her fitful sleep. The two creatures; one human, one youkai, simply stared at one another in silence for several moments. The young human's expression told of weariness and mild shock, while the ageless youkai's appeared somewhat concerned.

"Of what were you dreaming?" Sesshoumaru finally asked. Rin turned her head away, relieved he had been the one to break the uncomfortable quiet. However, the moment she attempted to recall her dream, she knew that she would fail. It didn't surprise her. She hadn't been able to recall the specifics of any dreams for many years now. The only reason she knew she had nightmares was because, from time to time, she would wake up in a cold sweat, and though she couldn't recall what happened, she could easily guess as to its content.

Wolves.

They were the only nightmares she ever had but it seemed that her mind no longer wanted her to remember them after waking. It seemed that it protected her from the terrifying images. As though it deemed them unnecessary and since it couldn't stop the almost nightly images, it decided to just keep her from remembering them.

However, on this occasion, Rin was nearly positive that it had not been haunting images of bloodthirsty wolves chasing her to her death that had roused her from the land of sleep. She was not left with the normal feelings of sadness and fear that usually followed her into wakefulness; instead she was now filled with a feeling of anxiety and… embarrassment?

"I don't know my lord." She answered after giving herself a sufficient amount of time to try and recall the lost images. She turned her face back to his. His expression was, as always, unreadable.

Sesshoumaru too had a feeling that this nightmare of hers differed from that of the ones she normally experienced. He knew she wasn't lying when she informed of her inability to recall it. He had always been fascinated by the intensity of her dreams and the effect they had upon her general demeanor. The weariness they caused could last for several days depending upon the severity. Nightmares such as those were becoming far more rare as she grew into adulthood. He did hope that this would not become a new and disturbing habit for the woman.

"Dawn is still far off, you should go back to sleep."

Rin heard what he said and merely nodded. The seemingly innocuous statement he made actually filled the young woman with hope. He was not treating her any differently than he would have normally. Perhaps Jaken was wrong and her lord was not dissatisfied with her presence. When he stood, he left her as she had been when she awoke and retreated back to the base of a tree to rest his legs.

Taking his normal position, he watched Rin as her body relaxed and she fell back off to sleep. She had no more nightmares that night.

XxX

AN:

icegirljenni: Jaken is terrible dinner company. I don't think I'd invite him over for dinner. As to your question about Sesshoumaru feelings about coupling with Rin, it's like you read my mind... 6 years ago. I hope this chapter answered it well enough.I hope you found it interesting.

Gonzo8886: I'm sorry that my version of Jaken upset you. At least this chapter didn't have him in it though I can't make any promises about the future.

KeomiXD: If there's someone out there that doesn't want Jaken in some sort of pain after what he said, I'd be surprised. I think you're in good company. I'm so happy to hear that you love the story, I'm flattered.

Obsessivemuse: Thank you so much for the realism vote. I'll take that to mean you think Rin and Sess are staying in character. It was one of my main goals in writing this story. I hope you keep enjoying it!


	5. Chapter 5

An: Quick warning, this chapter contains some… well a bit kinky sexual references. Nothing crazy and it all ties into the plot, I swear!

Chapter 5

Sensual Preparations

Jaken scurried around the campsite, preparing for departure. Ahun lightly pranced in place, eager to get going as he was packed and ready to go. Breakfast had already been prepared and eaten and there seemed to be nothing left to do. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen and Jaken assumed that his lord had left to scout on ahead. It was a common practice in more dangerous areas of the border more prone to attack. At the moment they were well within the confines of the Western Land's borders. He dismissed the unusual behavior; perhaps his lord had noticed something out of the ordinary. In the end though, it didn't matter one way or the other. Jaken knew the way and he and Rin would start out immediately.

"Rin," he yelled, "let's get going." The woman nodded and hopped onto Ahun as she had been instructed. She would not carry herself under her own steam until her lord specifically bade it and since he had said nothing to that effect, she rode the two headed dragon dutifully.

Just as the little band was about to make its way out of the campsite, Sesshoumaru returned.

"My lord, you have returned. Was there trouble ahead?"

Sesshoumaru ignored the little toad's impertinent question and headed straight for the pack animal that bore Rin upon its back.

"Jaken, come here." He commanded.

The imp, as always happy to do his master's bidding, promptly heeded the call and skidded to a halt as his feet.

"Yes, my lord. What do you need of your humble servant?" He intoned with a low bow.

"Carry this." Sesshoumaru answered as he hefted a pack off Ahun and onto the ground. Its absence left a large space right behind Rin, who had begun to sit astride the animal several days ago after her lord informed her that sitting sidesaddle was no longer necessary. "Scout ahead, you know the trail. I will travel back with Ahun and Rin." Jaken looked a bit suspicious at first and a bit put out when Sesshoumaru finished with, "Make sure you are well out of range of us."

With that said, the lord turned to rearrange some of the remaining packs, adding a small one of his own. Jaken threw Rin a sidelong glance that spoke volumes. The fact that she would be traveling essentially alone with their lord was reason enough for her increased apprehension but the look that Jaken gave her, only served to increase the feeling.

With the torment of his stare accomplished, Jaken turned and left the campsite at an impressive speed considering the restrictive length of his stubby little legs.

Rin then turned her attention to her lord who seemed to have accomplished what it was he set out to do. The space behind her was now considerably larger than before. `Certainly he doesn't plan on riding with me.' She thought to herself but no sooner had the thought entered her mind than said youkai effortlessly hoisted himself onto the back of the animal. Rin reddened and immediately faced forward. For a moment, nothing happened. They just sat there and Rin couldn't fathom what was going to happen next. She couldn't stop the squeak she let out when one of his strong arms encircled her waist and she was pulled flush against the chest of her master. The arm did not relinquish its grip even as Ahun lurched forward at some unseen and unheard command.

They traveled like this for quite some time. Leisurely riding through the wooded forests of the Western Lands as though this was the way it had always been done. After quite some time, Rin's tense body relaxed somewhat. That state did not last for long however.

The arm that had remained motionless for so long around her waist slowly shifted but not like one might as a casual adjustment for comfort. The hand of said arm confidently moved itself away from the side of her waist and onto her stomach. It didn't stay there for long. Slowly but in a way that made Rin's heart pound in her chest, it moved onto her hip and down her right thigh, his elegant claws lightly scratching through the cloth of her kimono. Maintaining its position on her leg, that same hand began to bunch the fabric of her kimono up higher and higher until her thighs were left bare and open to the world and his eyes.

Rin drew in a sharp inhale when he, ever so lightly, scratched up her inner thigh toward her core. She broke out in a light sweat and surprised herself when she moaned quietly as those deadly claws gently scraped against the already parted folds of her sex due to her spread position sitting astride Ahun's back.

Sesshoumaru was more than pleased with her response to his touch. He spent a surprising amount of time pondering just what it was that gave human females sexual pleasure and had come to the conclusion that he had absolutely no idea. He spent several nights conducting human surveillance in order to gain more insight into what these creatures took pleasure in. It had been distasteful work to say the least. He did not enjoy sneaking around human inhabitations and spying on their acts of sexual congress. Though it had been nearly revolting at times, he managed to gather some rather valuable information that was currently proving to have been worth the effort.

Human females seemed to enjoy a great deal of touching. It seemed that one could touch them almost everywhere, as long as it was done in a certain way and in turn the female would respond to the male's advances.

With his free hand, Sesshoumaru pulled Rin's hair to rest on one shoulder, leaving its mate completely exposed. He took this created opportunity to rein gentle but firm nips along the exposed flesh of her neck while his first hand continued to simply tease the flesh of her heat.

He was entirely too pleased with himself when he first caught the light scent of her arousal. It wasn't strong and he felt no increased moisture on her sex but he was confident that if he continued, he would attain that goal as well.

Rin's mind was awash in a torrent of different emotions and sensations. Everywhere he touched her; a small fire was ignited on her skin that felt both intensely hot and cold at the same time. She broke out in small goose bumps every couple of seconds as wave after wave of shivers ran along her spine.

At first, his actions had caused the new feelings of modest embarrassment to rise to the surface but that had long ago been chased away by a far more pleasant and far fiercer feeling of… want, to feel more and more of what he was doing to her body. The poor girl could do little but moan and breathe. Her ability for coherent thought had been stripped from her by the unexpected actions of her lord. With her eyes shut tightly, she just tried to hold herself upright as Sesshoumaru continued on with his ministrations.

Sesshoumaru's unoccupied hand now snaked around to the front of her nubile body to deftly untie the bindings of her cloths. Once accomplished, he easily pulled the fabric down and off her shoulders until it pooled around her waist. This left her breasts exposed and free to jar lightly with the slow pace of their dragon transport. They made quite a site, a little nude human female sitting astride a large two-headed dragon being carefully fondled by a fully clothed, beautiful youkai lord.

Sesshoumaru's hand, finished with the task of removing her cloths, moved up to cup one small breast and gently tweak its nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Rin actually cried out at the sensation the simple action caused and Sesshoumaru smirked against her neck as he continued to gently punish the skin of her neck, collar and shoulder. If she reacted this well to having that portion her body manipulated then…

He took the opportunity to slip a single digit between her now slightly damp folds to find the little button above her opening. She cried out yet again when he flicked it lightly, her hands gripping firmly onto the thighs of the lord behind her. Everything was going so well, he hated to carry out with the plan he had formulated over the past few nights. Though fairly certain the girl wouldn't feel any pain, he wasn't sure how she would react to his rather _unusual_ plot. He had even fully prepared an explanation of what he was doing if she offered any resistance but he knew the chances of that happening were slim. She continued to show complete loyalty and obedience in everything he bid of her.

The hand that had been expertly teasing her breasts deftly reached back into the pack that he had attached to the dragon. Inside the satchel, he felt several smooth tapered cylinders of varying width lying as he had placed them. He withdrew the thinnest out and in front of his ward without her even noticing. Her eyes were still shut tightly as he slipped a single digit inside of her. He continued until he had added a second when he thought she would be ready for it and began to pump none too gently but not violently within her, eliciting mews of excited pleasure.

Now was the time to begin.

Essentially, she needed to be stretched in order to accommodate his size and forcing her to simply take him again as he had the first time was not a path he wanted to follow. It had been during his time observing the humans in their rutting practices that a thought began to take shape in his mind. It seemed a common practice and one that lessened the shock for the female's body, if before the actual act took place, the male prepared the female with his fingers in order to ready her body for his assault. Though he had done something similar prior to his first joining with Rin, it had been done to check her readiness not to prepare her for his penetration. Sesshoumaru decided that the same technique could be employed in this situation and that something other than mere fingers would be needed in order to sufficiently bridge the gap between the two of them, especially since his fingers were not long enough to widen her passage deeply enough within her.

Still pumping two fingers, he positioned the first and thinnest tapered cylinder at her entrance. He hoped she might not even notice the difference thought he knew that was a long shot. Removing his pumping and now wet digits, he carefully inserted the object a small distance at a time so as to fully coat it with her body's own lubricants and thus minimize any possible discomfort.

To his surprise, she didn't seem to notice it at first. She just continued making her noises that were very pleasing to his ears. That was until he pushed it farther in than his fingers had been able to venture. It was then that she took as sharp intake of breath and opened her eyes wide.

He surprised himself to find out just how arousing it was to do such a thing to a female. He never would have imagined doing it simply for erotic reasons. Its conception had been borne out of cold reasoning and necessity, but watching the object disappear inside of her where someday soon his own growing hardness would go was maddeningly stimulating.

Rin's grasp on his thighs tightened as it was fully sheathed within her. She was surprised to find where her hands had found themselves since she didn't remember ever placing them there in the first place. She was stunned when she looked down to see what it was that he was doing to her now. It wasn't painful, just a little uncomfortable however it bared quite a contrast from the highly pleasurable sensations he had been causing just moments before. Out of pure reflex, Rin tensed up once again, much to the displeasure of the youkai sitting behind her.

"Relax. This will ensure that you are not injured the next time this Sesshoumaru takes you."

Rin tried her best to follow her master's command and finally did a little when his free hand, the one that had been inside of her only moments before, gently massaged a breast and then a nipple. The action sent shivers down her spine as the slick wetness still clinging to his fingers, coated and cooled on her nipple. He took that as a good sign and proceeded to lightly fuck her with the highly polished object. After some time, Rin slowly began to feel the pleasure she had experience before return. She lightly cried out when he adjusted the angle of penetration of the device in order for it to gently rub against the sensitive spot above her opening as it was pumped in and out of her.

Once she was moaning and writhing in front of him once more, he again reached back to the same satchel, extracting the next size. He reluctantly pulled the first one out and slowly began to inch the next one in as he had with the first. Again, she stopped enjoying his actions and reflexively tensed.

This one, even larger than the first, now increased to a discomfort that bordered on pain. She bore it though, as she was simply relieved that he was still interested in her despite what Jaken had said. Maybe her lord _had_ been dissatisfied with her first performance but was willing to give her a second chance. The only problem with that line of reasoning was that she had no idea what she needed to do in order to show the improvement she believed she needed to in order to stay. The only thing she knew for certain was that he wished to do this to her and that he was doing it so she wouldn't get hurt again as she had been before. Besides, the level of discomfort she now experienced, paled next to the last time he touched her and for that, she felt grateful.

Sesshoumaru was quick to pick up on her new level of discomfort. Even after several minutes of having the second fully sheathed within her, it was still causing her pain and as a result, the arousal he managed to bring her to earlier seemed almost entirely lost along with her wetness. Though a little disappointing, since he knew he would not even be able to get her started on the third size, he was still pleased that she had reacted as well to the training as she did.

"You have done well." He spoke into her ear as they continued to travel along through the forest on Ahun's back. He left the second inside of her, just trying to let her body adjust to it before he finished the lesson.

"You're not going to send me away?" She was still gripping his thighs and breathing in short irregular gasps.

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to one side at her question. Why would she think that? Hadn't he been perfectly clear that if she wanted to stay, she had to allow him such things as he was doing now? She had and she was still here, so why would there be any question? He searched his thoughts for a reasonable explanation for her unexpected query. Perhaps…he had not explained himself clearly enough. After all, he did only tell her that he wished to place his own there, not differently sized mockups. Perhaps he had confused her with today's excursion into the kinkier side of sex despite the purely logical reasons for it in the first place.

"No." He finally answered her and withdrew the second at the same time, she gave off a little feminine grunt as he did so. He also decided to offer a slightly expanded explanation in order to straighten the girl out. "If you allow me what I wish when it comes to your body, then there will be no reason for you to be sent away." That should take care of that he thought in all confidence.

Rin sighed lightly when he began to redress her in their sitting positions. Jaken had simply been wrong when he told her that her lord had not been pleased with her. However, that did not clear up the other accusation of Jaken's. Was this…this strange type of activity the only reason she had ever been brought into the group? Try as she might to tell herself that it shouldn't matter, that she was here and here was where she wanted to be, she just couldn't shake this strange feeling that if it were true, that she might have made the wrong choice after all.

She scrunched her brow together when she thought of it. She looked down at the pale hands that deftly covered her back up. They were hands that she could count on one of hers the number of times they had touched her before that night. Had those hands just been waiting to touch her all these years? She thought back to her childhood. To all the times she had found things that were beautiful to her and brought them back to show. Had she just been an annoyance all those years? All the times he came to rescue her from those various villains; had he only done that so he could do this to her now? She closed her eyes as she battled before unknown feelings that such ideas filled her with and for the first time in her life, she wished that Sesshoumaru was not so near to her. She wished to be alone for a while. Maybe then she could sort it all out and maybe then decided how she felt. That was not a wish she was granted however as he continued to hold onto her small frame even when he finished with her cloths.

Though he was both satisfied with the little `training' session and with his all encompassing answer to her strange question, he still felt as though something were missing. She seemed tenser now than before all this started. Humans were difficult to understand, even one who had been traveling with him for most of her life.

AN: I can't helpt but love making Sess a little clueless. Taking someone so powerful and self possessed and showing that they don't always have all the right answers is a lot of fun to do.

Silvia: Thank you! Jaken is quite annoying and will only get worse I'm afraid to say.

Icegirljenni: I think I caused a little confusion when I used the word mistress. No, Sess doesn't have a wife. I just used to term to describe a sexual relationship between a lord and his ward. I might have to go back and change that word to make it less confusing. Females before Rin were just the occasional fling with youkai females that were more than happy to lie with him, nothing long term, just mutual satisfaction. You're right, Sess isn't aware of his true intentions… he's a bit clueless. He's in uncharted territory with humans since he's avoided these types of relationships in the past. He's treating her like a youkai because that's all he knows. He's going to have to expand his understandings before he can really figure all this out. Your final review questions… well let's just say I don't want to give too much away just yet.)

Zaraki-lover 21: Don't worry, I have… plans already laid out for Jaken. I'm so happy you're enjoying it!

Caffiend: Your flattery in just checking out a fandom you aren't familiar with just because I wrote it is… I couldn't get the smile off my face when I saw your reviews. My husband asked me why I had such a silly grin on my face, I tried to explain but he just rolled his eyes and smiled. I hope you can enjoy this story despite not knowing all of the back story behind Rin and Sess. No worries Caff, I will certainly update!


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: This chapter contains a lemon. You are warned.

Chapter 6

Pleasing Exception

It was late into the afternoon when Sesshoumaru gave Rin the best news she'd received in a long time. _"You are no longer required to ride Ahun but do not run too much."_

Rin trotted along side the two-headed dragon, full of energy. She didn't stray too far; trying her hardest not to disobey her master despite her burning desire to run to the nearby field and gather some fresh spring flowers. They hadn't been in bloom when all this silliness began and only being allowed to look at them from Ahun's back had nearly driven her mad. Now at least, she could grab the few that lined the trail as they traveled along. It still wasn't what she wanted but it would have to do for the moment. Jaken had left early several mornings ago a Sesshoumaru's request but why and for what, she could only guess.

Sesshoumaru walked ahead of his human and dragon as he normally did and Rin was glad of it. Lately, she came to look forward to the times that called back to the lifestyle that existed before her new role. They were simpler times, unfettered by confusing emotions and contradicting ideas about her place in the world. Jaken continued to fill her head with the most unsettling notions. He didn't do it in long conversations like he had the first time over dinner but were more passing comments that were always made when their lord was not around. Such things as, "Will the mistress be helping with dinner tonight or will she be busy with other _things_?" or "Has he worn you out yet?" She had stopped answering his questions all together since when she did; it only opened her up for more comments that made her feel lowly.

Then there were the times when she was alone with her lord. When he touched her, she felt a multitude of different emotions that came and went with little indication as to why. She always started out uncertain as to what to do, too concerned that she might do something wrong. Then she felt pleasure as he touched her body in the strangest of ways that surprisingly felt amazing. But after the pleasure passed, after he left her, she would feel uncertain again. She shuddered to think that this was how it was to be for the rest of her life now, never feeling quite right about anything anymore. She shrugged it off for now and just tried to enjoy the lovely spring day.

Sesshoumaru turned to look at Rin as she stopped briefly by the side of the road to inspect, in his opinion, a rather uninteresting rock but for her, it held her fascination in a way he didn't understand. The rock would never be anything but a roadside rock. It could not be turned into a gem or carved into a beautiful object. However, when she picked it up and held it in her hand, for a moment, it somehow held beauty for her. He did not see the world as she did; he knew this well enough. For him, if something wasn't useful then there was no reason to have it. That did not mean he didn't have an aesthetic appreciation for life. He knew when something was valuable and what was worth keeping. After all, he only clothed himself in the finest silks and most skillfully crafted armor and weapons. It was also evident to anyone who had the privilege of visiting his fortress. Everything was the best, from the masterfully woven rugs to the intricately carved furniture. It all spoke to his rank and station in life. Everything in the fortress was flawless with the exception of the possessions of one room.

Her room was filled with unremarkable objects just like the one she now turned over in her hand. No doubt it would find its way among her various `treasures'. Why had he ever let her follow him in the first place? The little girl had not mirrored his usual traits. She was not the picture of perfection that he always surrounded himself with. `There are exceptions to every rule.' He thought to himself and found he was quite pleased with this particular exception.

He stopped walking while he watched her. Rin on the other hand had returned to walking along the path after Ahun while still examining her newest find. She was so engrossed by it that she very nearly ran into her lord but caught herself at the last moment when a flare of white silk came into view.

"Excuse me, my lord. I wasn't looking were I was going." She quickly explained to what she expected would be the same stoic face she always saw but instead, she was met with the strangest expression she had ever seen in his features. "My lord?" She questioned.

Sesshoumaru held out his hand to her. At first, she didn't understand what he wanted but she followed his eyes to the rock she had forgotten she'd been holding. Quickly, but with a little uncertainty, she placed the dusty stone in his hand. The youkai brought it up to his eyes for a closer inspection and confirmed what he already believed; it was unremarkable.

"What do you see in it?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Rin couldn't help but smile. Her lord had never taken an active interest in anything she'd collected before and her chest filled with pride that he was now.

"I think it's the last piece I need." She beamed.

He raised an eyebrow and she answered the unspoken question without hesitation.

"For something I've been working on at the fortress." He said nothing for a long time as he reexamined the rock for something he may have missed. Again, besides its faded red quality, it was completely unremarkable so he handed it back to her.

"You will show this Sesshoumaru when we return." To this, Rin nodded her head vigorously. This was the Rin he knew. It still amazed him that such small things could fill her with such happiness. "Place it among your things on Ahun. We will camp here for the night."

Rin gave him a small bow before running over to Ahun, depositing her treasure and then beginning the task of unloading the packs for the evening. Rin tended to everything since Jaken was not there and she was actually a bit glad for it. There would be no comments coming from him to worry about. Instead, she would prepare her meal the way she liked it and tend to Ahun. Rin was so busy with her chores, that she didn't notice Sesshoumaru retrieve the pack she had become quite familiar with. Only when he took off his armor, weapons and boots did she begin to take notice of his actions. She was currently busying herself with pulling all the tangles and vegetation that had gotten stuck over the past few days out of Ahun's twin manes. Every once in a while she would spare a glace over toward her master who had taken his rest against a large boulder and just seemed to be watching her.

Soon she ran out of tasks with Ahun but unwilling to not look busy, Rin began to inspect the dragon's feet as well.

"That is not something you normally do Rin, come here."

She turned to find Sesshoumaru no longer reclining against the tree but walking toward the small space he had arranged not too long ago. A little ball of nervousness settled itself in her stomach as she dutifully left the dragon's side and moved to that of her lord's. She didn't look at him even when she arrived next to him and she almost jumped when his hand gently touched her chin in order to raise her eyes to meet his.

"Do you fear this?" He asked. Her attitude continued to confuse him. He had assured her that she would not be sent away and had been careful, to the point of the ridiculous, in not causing her pain with the preparation but she continued to tense around him, especially when he touched her.

Rin didn't know how to answer that question. Did she fear him? No, she knew that wasn't it but then what was it that made her always uncomfortable around him of late. She had come to the conclusion several days ago, on one of their Ahun training rides, that she didn't want him to touch her despite the fact that it felt absolutely incredible. In fact, it seemed that the better he made her feel during their sessions, the worse she felt about them after but it wasn't out of fear; it was something else, something she couldn't identify.

"No." She answered quietly.

Pleased enough with her answer, he allowed his hands to make short work of the ties to her clothes. The loosened material easily pooled at her feet and Sesshoumaru took the opportunity to assess her body from this angle, no longer riding behind her but standing directly in front of her. She was quite pleasing. Silently, he bade her lay down on the bedding he had arranged for them with a gentle push on her shoulders. She complied easily.

Rin sat down and looked up at her lord who began to remove his own clothing. Having only seen his nude form once before, she looked on with interest as he bared his pale flesh to her. She took in his hard muscled chest, lightly tapered waist and muscular thighs. She also looked on, without embarrassment, at the already hard flesh sticking out from between his legs. She knew then that there would be no smooth sticks today but the very thing she was now staring at.

Sesshoumaru was pleased that his form did not cause her distress, noting her unfettered watching of his body. Perhaps she just didn't like the training and would no longer suffer her strange moods now that it was complete. It was a shame though, he had enjoyed her preparations, He especially would have if he'd been able to relieve the tension caused in his loins by the sessions with her afterward but if forgoing them made her more comfortable, it was only a small loss.

He lowered himself onto the bedding with her and then encouraged her to lie on her back. He had taken her in the more traditional inu way the first time but he would try the more common human position on this occasion. He immediately saw the benefits as he was given easy access to her pert breasts. He teased her already erect nipples with both his hands and his mouth, eliciting pleasing moans from the woman below him. They did not keep his full attention for very long, as one hand deftly made its way down between her legs to lightly tease the sensitive flesh there.

Sesshoumaru watched her face as he expertly teased her clit before plunging a single finger inside her already wet heat. It was becoming far easier as time went on to stir her into arousal. It seemed that her body had learned how to react to his attentions, a fact that pleased him immensely. Her face was flushed, her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted as she intermittently panted and moaned. He watched as she wet her lips with her little pink tongue. It fascinated him and it was decided then and there that he would have to explore that part of her as well.

Rin drew a quick breath as she felt his fingers plunge inside her once more and his thumb graze over her now swollen nub. She almost cried out as the sensations crashed through her but was startled by her lord nipping at her parted lips. Her eyes flew wide when his mouth fully covered hers and his tongue delved inside to plunder her little mouth. She could see that Sesshoumaru's eyes were now closed and hers soon followed as he filled her sex with a third pumping digit. She would have to contemplate this new action another time as she was once again overwhelmed by sensation.

Having denied himself her body for many weeks, touching her now and tasting her sweet mouth had suddenly become too much for the youkai lord. His blood was boiling for the little human beneath him. With a sudden fierce need, he demandingly spread her thighs apart enough to allow him between them. Once there, he wasted no time in grasping his length and pressing it against her wet opening. Rin arched her back as he pushed himself in without further delay.

She whimpered against the mouth that had maintained contact with hers throughout his actions. He filled her far more than any of his smooth sticks had and her brow scrunched together as he forced himself inside her small, pliant body. When his hips smacked against her, he tore his mouth off of her and growled, a noise she had never heard him make before. His entire body covered her now except her thin legs that he hoisted around his waist to increase the pleasure of his penetration. She cried out with each thrust, a strange mixture of pain and pleasure filling her passionate sounds. Suddenly, Rin found her hair being gripped and pulled down towards her back, forcing her to thrust out her chest and bend her neck back. Surprised by the quick and unexpected move, she squeaked out a small protest that fell on not deaf but unhearing ears.

Sesshoumaru scrapped his fangs against the pale, exposed skin of her neck and didn't stop until he'd taken a nipple harshly into his mouth. His thrusts had become more forceful and bordered on erratic as he lost himself to the sensations of the rut.

Rin held on for dear life as her lord drove himself inside of her, devoured the rest of her body and suffered a crushing release that left her mindless and breathless. She recovered to find the emotionless eyes of her lord looking down at her. She blinked a few times to clear the little stars from her vision.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. His voice betrayed none of the concern he felt but his question did.

Rin blinked again and then shook her head in the affirmative, her ability to speak still not returned to her. Then she smiled lightly, touched by his rare show of concern. He looked at her for a few more moments to make sure he agreed with her assessment then nipped her chin and pulled his semi flaccid length from her heat and himself off her body. He stood and walked over to a pack near Ahun and grabbed a couple of cloths.

Rin sat up when he left her and jumped slightly when she felt a light gush of liquid leave her body. She looked down at herself to see a messy white liquid escaping from where her lord had just been. She looked up at her lord when he returned with a worried look on her face.

Sesshoumaru understood her unasked question to the new experience. It had been an amusing site to see her prod herself as more of his seed escaped her body. The pent up frustration of denying himself release with the young woman had caused there to be a rather large amount released into her. It had been an entirely satisfying ending that seemed to last forever, much to his extreme satisfaction. Human females were highly pleasurable. One didn't have the constant dominance play with them as one did with youkai females. He could do whatever he desired and focus on the pleasure he gave and drew from her, thus enhancing the whole experience greatly.

"That is my seed." He replied to her worried and inquisitive gaze.

"Where did it come from?" She asked unabashed, feeling she needed to know.

"From this." He answered, cleaning himself with on of the cloths he had retrieved. He knelt down and spread her legs once again and proceeded to clean her off as well.

At first, Rin was confused and then she was astonished that her lord, the great Lord Sesshoumaru, would take the time to do something as simple as cleaning his servant of the fluid he'd left within her. The simple action filled her with warmth and pushed away the imminent feelings she usually experience after he touched her. For the first time, she didn't feel so small next to him and she smiled lazily as she lay back down to fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Homecoming

Jaken glared daggers at the sleeping human. The situation he was now facing went beyond the ridiculous in his _humble_ opinion. It was one thing to decided to fuck the wench but entirely another when he decided to give her an official title. At first, he had found the whole thing amusing. It had been so easy to taunt Rin into tears and had been delighted at how a few well chosen words to a girl who knew next to nothing about her current situation, could so quickly tramp down her ever jubilant, ever annoying spirit.

Had things remained as he thought they would, Sesshoumaru taking her to his bed occasionally, he eventually would have grown bored with the cruel but oh so amusing game. But things did not remain the same. Not more than two weeks after his lord made the rather unusual decision to bed her, he sent Jaken out ahead of the troupe and back to the fortress. They had delayed their return in order to give Jaken to necessary time to arrange rooms and acquire cloths, gifts and everything else that went along with being given the title of...he hated to even think the word..._concubine_.

She was to be, or already was in all intents and purposes, the most personal of servants a lord could ever take. Before she had just been a do nothing ward, without any title or position to speak of but now...she was above him! Jaken was now, in the scheme of servant status, below the lowly little human that slept peacefully only a few feet away. And now, he was to escort her back to the fortress, to where Sesshoumaru waited, and present her with all the material things that she now had a right to. To say that he was upset would have been an understatement. His jealousy of her had always been just below the surface, tempered by times when she had been almost bearable but now... He hated what had happened, he hated his lord's decision and most of all...

he

_hated_

her.

Rin slowly woke to the warm sun hitting her face and a soft fur below her. She opened her eyes and was actually disappointed to not find her lord near her. Not that she expected him to stay with her; he was always up and gone before anyone else in the camp awoke but the idea of him there would have been nice. Instead, she glanced around her surroundings only to find the rather aggravated face of none other but Jaken.

"We're leaving." He declared the moment he saw her wake. He had been instructed not to leave until she woke up on her own and though he found it ridiculous, he complied with his orders.

Rin sat up and stretched languidly, realizing that she had been re-clothed while she slept. She watched for a moment as Jaken finished packing the last of their gear onto the waiting Ahun. The moment Rin stood, Jaken snatched up the fur that his lord customarily wore and that Rin had slept on that night. Jaken crinkled up his nose at the heave smell of sex that clung to the irreplaceable relic. I would have to be thoroughly cleaned now.

"Where is Lord Sesshoumaru?" A still slightly groggy Rin asked the still obviously aggravated imp.

"You suddenly have the need to know such things!" He instantly snapped at her.

Rin looked stunned by the tone of his voice. "No…I just…"

"You just think that the world revolves around you suddenly do you?" He had stopped packing and was now facing her, his little fists clenching as he spoke.

Rin didn't know how to respond to the unexpected venom in his voice or the stinging words he barked at her. Their relationship had never been close and could never even be considered friendly but rarely had he ever taken on a tone as acidic as this.

"I don't think that Jaken. I was just curious." She said as forcefully as she could, hoping that perhaps he would drop the issue and they could get a move on.

"Just curious eh? Well it is none of your business where our lord goes or why or for what. Your place is on your back with your legs spread and no more." He turned and finished tying down their equipment, effectively ending the conversation. He muttered something about whores that overstepped their bounds but said nothing else to her as he had no desire to debate anything with her, certainly not anything having to do with the lord whom he didn't understand or agree with at the moment.

The words hit her like a sharp gust of wind that knocked the breath out of her. She just stood there, not even noticing the tears that were already spilling out of her eyes.

It didn't take long for the scent of her tears to reach Jaken's sharp senses.

He smiled.

Perhaps their lord had surreptitiously placed this human's status above his most trusted servant's but that didn't mean that Jaken had to treat her like she was. He knew both his master and Rin far too well. After all, he knew full well that Rin had not told their lord of the first things he'd said to her. Ever since Rin was a youngling, she had learned only to say a choice few words to her lord and those were usually relayed through Jaken himself. The same was true of Lord Sesshoumaru. He had entrusted Jaken with her upbringing and care. Anything that he saw needed to be done concerning his ward was normally dealt with through his trusted servant. Rin would no sooner tell her lord of his cruel words toward her than she would question their patrols. In general, she was too trusting. Though his words hurt her, she would not only believe that they were true but she would also undoubtedly blame herself for the negative feelings she suffered because of them.

He finished up with the chore of packing with a little more gusto that he originally started with and pulled on the reigns of Ahun.

"We're leaving." He stated simply.

Rin followed dutifully and didn't say a word. She wiped away the tears that fell and tried not to let his words bother her. Everything he said _was_ true after all, if she had said no to Sesshoumaru-sama, he would not have allowed her to stay. She sighed heavily and tried to regain the feeling she'd had when she first woke, before Jaken opened his mouth and made her feel the way she did now.

The trio of travelers arrived back at the fortress of the Lord of the Western Lands just after midday. Neither imp nor human said a single word to each other the entire time. Rin actually would have preferred if Jaken had said something negative about her humanity. It would have broken the almost painful silence between the two. She had never been happier in her life to see the familiar gates of the place she'd called home ever since she was a little girl. Soon she could just go to her own room, which was filled with her own things and just forget all the turmoil she now felt.

The moment they stepped through the gates, Jaken noticed that Rin began immediately stepping up her pace in the direction of her old quarters. He let out an indignant huff at her presumption that she could leave and barked at her retreating form.

"Rin!" She stopped in her tracks; he could already sense her apprehension increase ten fold. "Don't just run off, Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to speak with you in the east garden." He saw the young woman sigh and then begin moving decidedly slower towards the garden that he had indicated.

He glared at her back; indignant about what he knew was about to happen. With that he trotted off to find Sesshoumaru and inform him of their arrival back at the fortress.

Rin stood quietly by one of the gardens most beautiful trees. It was a cherry tree and this spring it was not shy about its thousands of spectacular pink blossoms. It was her favorite tree and thus her favorite garden but this year it didn't fill her with her usual joy at seeing it. Instead, she simply stared at it, not appreciating the majestic scene it once again proudly displayed. She watched as a single blossom was ripped from its cozy perch among its brethren to fall quietly and gracefully into the small pool of crystal clear water that accompanied its base.

Rin kneeled at the waters edge and contemplated the life of that little flower. She wondered if it liked leaving everything it'd ever known or if it was sad now in its new realm on the water's surface. She smiled slightly; she hoped it was happy because if it could be then maybe she could as well. Her fingertips gently broke the surface of the pond and the little ripples made the blossom dance and twirl. "Please be happy little flower." She whispered.

Sesshoumaru's usually stoic facade was once again marred by a slight crease in his brow. Rin was again out of sorts and once more, he couldn't fathom the reason why. Usually returning back to the fortress, especially in spring, brought out the natural jubilation of his ward but it didn't seem to be having that particular effect on her today, even in the presence of what he knew was her favorite garden. She had fallen asleep contentedly enough the night before, thus he assumed that her previous melancholy stemmed from the `training' and nothing more. But now... He looked at the delicate object he held in his hand; whatever it was she was currently feeling would be remedied soon enough.

"Rin." He spoke as he normally would.

The woman quickly stood and spun around, not having realized that she was no longer alone. She looked at the youkai that had just spoken her name. He wore the same kimono that he always did but his armor and weaponry were absent. A practice that was not unusual within his own grounds. Only a fool would ever attack him and only an insane one would do it within the confines of his home.

"Come." He said, promptly turning and headed for another part of the grounds. He was anxious to change her mood and his as well for that matter.

Rin snapped back to herself and caught up with her lord who was already headed off for some unknown destination. Once she caught up with him, she fell in step behind him and dutifully followed to wherever it was he wanted to take her. It didn't take long before Sesshoumaru led them inside his private chambers. Rin had only ventured here once before when she was young and prone to escaping the supervision of Jaken or anyone else assigned to watch her. It was the only time in her life that Sesshoumaru had reprimanded her for her actions. Though he hadn't yelled or struck her, she'd wish then that he had. He had bathed his chastisement in one of his more icy tones and though she'd heard it before, it had never been directed at her until that day. It had genuinely scared her and as a result, she was now hesitant to follow him inside.

"It is alright Rin; you have been invited this time." The youkai in front of her had accurately guessed the reason for her hesitation without even turning around. For Rin, that was all it took and she once again stepped up her pace.

They came to a stop outside of a door she had never even seen before. She was surprised when Sesshoumaru gestured to the entrance, indicating she should enter first. She lightly set her palm against the frame of the screen but hesitated. Again, she reigned herself in and gained the courage to slide it open. Her breath caught in her throat when she gazed at the spectacular interior.

It was a bedroom, of that she was sure since the impossibly large futon in the center of the room immediately gave it away. The rest of the room was covered in finery that not even the other portions of the castle contained. The floors were lined in the softest looking white furs. Red and white delicately painted silks were draped across the exterior of the room like walls of rippling water. There were massive wardrobes at the back of the room that stood open and inside she could see at least two dozen extravagant kimono hung up and twice as many boxes on higher shelves that she could only imagine contained more of the same. Between the massive wardrobes, stood an almost grotesquely large vanity that was covered in dozens of jars of all shapes and sizes, what they contained, she could only guess at. Finally, setting on the flat surface of the vanity, amongst all the jars, were several intricate and stunningly beautiful sets of jewelry. She had never seen such finery, never even imagined it.

Rin was startled out of her observation by a set of white hands that placed possibly the most beautiful necklace of all around her neck. She looked down at it and was nearly blinded by the sparkle of hundreds of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. At that moment, she was positive that nothing had ever been created that was more stunningly beautiful. She turned to stare up with wide doe eyes at the almost smug expression of her lord. Her stunned expression quickly turned to that of confusion as she quickly looked back at the necklace she now wore, to the extravagant room and back to the golden eyes of her lord.

"I don't understand." She finally managed to say.

He smiled at the wonder and confusion playing over her face, happy that his assumption had been correct. Her previous sour mood was gone, replaced by exactly what he'd hoped she'd feel.

"This is all yours now." He stated simply, as though he had explained everything, knowing full well that he had not.

Rin now looked even more confused than before. Why would she be given all of this?

"But why?"

"Because my concubine will be given no less than the best."

`Concubine?' she thought in her head but was unable to voice the mental question as Sesshoumaru leaned down lightly nipped at her still confusion pursed lips. She opened her mouth in surprise at the unexpected move and he wasted no time in deepening the contact to something more carnal.

"Should we make sure this bed is fit for you?" He said once he pulled away from her very satisfying lips. Rin's eyes darted to the large centerpiece of the room and again wasn't given a chance to speak or answer. Her small form was easily lifted off the floor and into the arms of the creature that was confusing the hell out of her right now. He deposited her on the bed to immediately begin the process ravishing her small but utterly inviting body.

Rin stared up at the ceiling at the large fresco of a massive, red-eyed dog running amongst the clouds. She would have continued to gaze at it had a certain inu taiyoukai not suddenly latched his mouth at that very sensitive spot right between her legs.

XxX

Klrob: I'm so happy that you do! It is a bit of a perverted story but I'm trying to throw a bit of plot into it so that it's not entirely salacious. Yeah, Jaken is the character that I made ooc because I really needed an antagonist. I'm glad you like it despite destroying his character. I will try.  
NewtypeJuliet: ROFL! It used to be over on that site many years ago. I pulled it recently because I decided that I wanted to consolidate all of my fan fiction to this site. I'm glad you have been able to find it again! Yeah, you have to wait but at least you know it's already completed so you don't have to worry about an abandoned story.  
Caffiend04: I'M BACK! I missed you too! I do try. I wanted to update in each of my stories, keep it fair for all my readers but since you read them all, you got triple the benefit of my return. Yeah, Jaken is a dick… more on that later. She enjoys the simple things in life and I can't wait to show you her display.  
icegirljenni: They will definitely grow as they come to understand eachother better in the new roles they have between one another. Yeah, any big change in life will be accompanied by insecurities and for Rin, Jaken is not helping at all with her transition. Thank you!  
Zaraki-lover 21: No Jaken for that chapter but he's never too far away, unfortunately for Rin. You're welcome!  
Deadman19: Thank you. I'm a shameless lemon writer, I just can't help myself. Sess isn't a cold creature, he's just incredibly reserved and careful about how and if he shows his inner feelings to others. At least that's how I see him.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: This explanation is for anyone that's worried about Rin becoming a concubine. I'm pulling from a little bit of history here, up until about a hundred years ago, women had next to no power over their own lives and, in the vast majority of situations, the only ones that did were women in situations similar to Rin's. For example, the only women in the surviving ancient historical records of Greece, that were ever described by name and not just worth in goods, were _heretas._ These were women of entertainment and not always of a sexual nature. _Courtesans, concubines, and_ _geisha_ are some of the only women of history that were educated and given an amount of freedom over their lives. One concubine in China actually became the ruler of a state. They were not whores. Common prostitutes are not choosy about who they share their beds with, where those mentioned above stuck to a select few or just one man. They were, in return for their sought after companionship, given a life of luxury and security that few others had ever known. Also, until recently, marriage was commonly used as a financial or social contract. Love had nothing to do with it and was commonly found outside the marriage bed. I'm not trying to give you a history lesson but just trying to make a clear distinction between a whore and a concubine. Also keep in mind that one of my main focuses in this fic has been to keep Sess and Rin in character as much as possible. Wow, sorry for the long note but I hope this clears up where I'm coming from with this particular fic. Now go and enjoy the update!

Warning: Double lemon contained within! (for those of you saddened by the loss in the last chap)

Chapter 8

Gaining Courage

Rin cried out and tightly shut her eyes as his talented mouth eagerly sent jolt after jolt of gasping pleasure through the young woman's body. Her small hands grasped at the fine silk bedding as the sensations almost became unbearable, mounting towards something she was becoming more and more familiar with as the days flowed by.

Sesshoumaru growled deep in his throat, knowing that the vibration would only add another level of sensation to the already writhing creature on which he was feasting. He slid a single digit inside her drenched sex, curling it up slightly and was immensely pleased with himself when he felt her walls convulse several times around his finger. Her breathless, half screamed moan made for a nice little bonus as her body tensed with the intensity of her release.

He looked up her body to see her head thrown back slightly with eyes closed tight. Sliding his wet digit out of her, he slowly nipped his way up her still slightly shaking body, paying extra attention to her flushed breasts that heaved with each panting breath. When his eyes came level to hers, he stopped and waited for those chocolate orbs to reopen. He was quickly rewarded as she gazed up at him with a glazed over, slightly sleepy expression.

Rin opened her eyes to find her lord staring down at her intently. She couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Her lord actually looked...happy. It wasn't that he was laughing or smiling but there was something added to his normally cold expression. Something she had never seen before today.

She suddenly realized something and found herself amazed by her own convoluted emotions. How could she feel so dejected and uncertain when around Jaken but then so content when _he_ touched her? And it wasn't due simply to the acts he performed on her either or the pleasure they brought, those were fleeting, but this...this moment right now filled her so much unexplainable warmth. It was something that only seemed to diminish when he wasn't around or more pointedly, when Jaken was. In that hazed moment of perfection, Rin did something she'd never done before.

She touched him.

It wasn't anything more than lightly reaching up to run her fingers over the delicate looking strips that adorned his cheeks, however; she knew the moment she did it that the simple act had a profound effect on the creature above her as he closed his eyes and slightly knitted his brow.

Sesshoumaru was surprised at the shiver that ran down his spine when she touched him. It wasn't a sexual sensation but it was filled with such unadulterated warmth that it made him hungry for more. There was no intent in the touch, no intrigue, and it had absolutely no desire to take anything more from him except this one touch. It was given freely and that was something he had not experienced in a very long time. So long in fact, that he had completely forgotten what it felt like but now that he remembered, he knew for a fact that he would crave it for the rest of his life.

He brought his hand up to press her still tentatively touching one against his cheek. He then held it there and turned his head to press a light kiss to her palm. Rin was absolutely fascinated by the action and was about to ask him what a concubine was when her stomach gurgled embarrassingly loud.

Sesshoumaru almost smirked as her face quickly turned a rather interesting shade of crimson and her eyes shot toward the offending party.

"Hungry?" He asked, allowing a slightly amused toned to enter his voice as his eyebrow arched gracefully in accompaniment to this question.

She pulled her hand from his cheek and both her hands rushed to cover the organ that had just embarrassingly betrayed her, as though the action would cease any further revolts. It didn't do any good as a second, even louder, far longer growl emanated from the same region.

This time he did allow a tiny smirk to appear as she now turned an impossibly darker shade of red.

"Come," he said while standing and pulling the partially clothed human to her feet, "dinner waits for us."

For a moment, she just stared at her lord in abject astonishment. She had never been asked to dine with him, in fact, she had never even seen him eat. The only time in her life that anything even remotely similar to this had ever come up was when she had offered him fish as a little girl all those years ago.

"Do you wish to eat?" He asked, still amused by her shy and awed reactions.

"Y-yes my lord." She barely managed out. Rin hastily pulled herself and her garments together and then trotted over to the door where he was already waiting for her, having only had to straighten his cloths. They walked for a moment in halls that Rin had never been down when she finally built up the courage to speak.

"You didn't want to..." but she was at al loss for words. She didn't even know the name of the act to which she was referring.

He turned his head to look at her as they walked, "Perhaps later." He answered easily and then added, "Did you wish to?"

Rin's eyes went wide and she blushed slightly. "Well, I..." She hadn't asked the question with that intent. She had just been confused about why he would give her pleasure while not taking his own. She had thought that was what he wanted to do when he picked her up and took her to the bed but then he'd just stopped and declared it was time to eat.

"I just thought that was what you wished to do my lord."

"Sesshoumaru."

"What?" She asked on reflex.

"When we are alone, you will address me simply as Sesshoumaru but just when we are alone."

Rin just nodded her head at that one, not sure if she would be comfortable with such a task. In fact, his original request of placing his organ inside of her had filled her with less trepidation that this new, unimaginable request.

They walked along in relative silence for a moment longer before Sesshoumaru once again spoke.

"I did."

Again, she asked on reflex, "Did what?"

"Wish to take you." He answered evenly enough. "But it was obvious that you were hungry."

`OHHH' Rin mouthed without sound, even more confused than before. He was putting off something he wished to do just because she, little `ol human Rin, was a little pekish? She wasn't sure if she could handle many more unexpected gestures from this creature she thought she knew.

Again they walked along in, what for Rin was, a rather uncomfortable silence. It was funny. That silence between the two of them would ever be uncomfortable. After all, they had probably spoken less than a hundred separate words to one another in a decade. The idea of uncomfortable silences seemed more than just a little ironic.

Finally, Rin could not take the silence or her curiosity any longer.

"My lord, what is a concubine?"

Sesshoumaru answered the question as casually as others would have answered a question about the weather. "A female that I desire to have near me." It was a simple declaration but it had profound effects on both of the occupants of that hallway.

For Rin, it was slightly confusing. As far as she knew, she had always been female and had been near him for the majority of her life. Had she always been a concubine then? She wasn't sure but the answer left her unsatisfied. Despite that, she didn't even imagine asking for further clarification. She had already asked so many today that she feared she was soon going to approach the level of annoying that Jaken staked claim to long ago. That was unacceptable and the image her mind's eye created of Sesshoumaru stepping on her as though she wasn't there or of having small rocks hurled quite accurately at her head made her shiver. Rin straightened and resolved to ask no more questions of him this day.

The youkai walking next to her was also engaging in a rather large amount of one-way mental discussion. He had admitted that so easily, that he wished to be near her. Is that why he had always taken her on patrol despite the fact that it slowed them down a great deal? He had decided not too long after taking her sexually the first time that he would bestow this title, that so many others had yearned for, on his Rin. It had been a surprisingly easy decision. She was loyal and disciplined. She had proven to be exceedingly pleasing during the rut and was pleasant to both look upon and to scent. And though all those things now obviously pointed to the fact that he enjoyed her presence, that specific avenue of thought had only just now crossed his mind.

Curious and not unpleasant at all.

They finally came to stop at yet another set of new doors for the young woman. Sesshoumaru again stopped and Rin was quick to realize that she was expected to once again open the door. She slid it back and was immediately hit with the most delicious aromas. Sesshoumaru stepped past her and into his personal dining room. It, like the rest of this part of the castle, was filled with beautiful and carefully chosen decorations and accents. The walls were again lined with painstakingly decorated silks but also, much to Rin's delight, there were large potted cherry trees that were blooming as gloriously as their outdoor cousins.

Rin entered the room and slid the door behind her. She turned to find Sesshoumaru easily seating himself at the large, low set table in the center of the room on a large, soft pillow. He motioned for her to sit next to him and she easily but somewhat shyly complied. The moment she was situated, the owners of the wondrous smells made their appearance. Several servants began bringing in a variety dishes for both Sesshoumaru and Rin. She had never seen so much food and soon realized that it would take her several weeks to eat the volume that they were now bringing out to the table.

The second thing she took note in as they began setting the dishes down, was the obvious difference between the foods she assumed were meant for her and the ones meant for her lord. Hers were all steaming and filled with a variety of meats and vegetables, all sitting in rice or noodles and covered in a variety of sauces and spices. The ones that she believed were intended for Lord Sesshoumaru were all uncooked and seemed to only contain different types of meat. They were not just hunks of meat either but were prepared; it seemed, with just as much care as the dishes that were meant for her. There were cutlets and fillets of fish, as well as boneless steaks of what looked like venison or some other type of wild game. Not to mention all the meats that she simply couldn't identify; undoubtedly various kinds of lower youkai.

Once everything had been set out and all the servants departed, Sesshoumaru picked up his chopsticks and looked to Rin in silent understanding that they could now eat. Hesitantly, she picked hers up as well and sampled some of the dishes that set nearest to her as Sesshoumaru too began to peruse the various dishes set before min. After several minutes and after Rin had sampled several of the unbelievably delicious foods, Sesshoumaru spoke.

"Are they to your liking?"

Rin shook her head in an enthusiastic affirmative. It was unbelievable. Everything she had sampled tasted amazing.

"I had several human cooks brought to the fortress. I'm pleased that you find it palatable."

Rin again just looked at him in utter astonishment. Yet something else that he had done specifically for her. It was not as though she never had cooked dishes in the castle before here in the castle but they had always been simple dishes of rice and meat. There were youkai in the fortress that ate foods similar to her but she had never eaten anything like this. Also, she'd never seen foods like this back when she lived in her village as a young girl, so these particular cooks must have come from a human town of some sort. And the final, most fascinating part of this particular experience was that there was now more than one human residing within the Lord of the Western Land's fortress walls.

Again, Sesshoumaru looked pleased with the current state he'd placed his only concubine in. Silence once again overcame the pair as they continued to eat, Rin savoring each bite just a little more than before as the food now had added meaning besides being delicious.

After a while Rin stopped eating, unable to fit a single bite more into her stomach that was now slightly rounded with the sheer volume she'd consumed. She'd felt determined to eat as much of it as she possibly could since she was a little sad that so much food was going to be wasted on account of her. Jaken had drilled it into her that wasting food was unacceptable as traveling rations were always limited and fresh provisions were not always easy to come by. If this was how she was to eat from now on, she'd have to be careful or she'd soon be twice the size she now was.

Soon, Sesshoumaru too finished eating and rose without a word but his body language spoke of his desire for her to follow him once again. She followed as they left the dining room and made their way down another new hallway. This time, they left the interior of the castle and entered a small garden that separated the main structure from a smaller one not far away. Rin guessed the function of this particular building long before reaching it. There were others similar to this one, but smaller, in other portions of the castle. It was a bathhouse and the idea of relaxing in warm mineral waters was an extremely pleasant thought. She still felt a little full from dinner and the warmth would do wonders for settling her to capacity belly.

Once more, Rin opened the doors for her lord and then followed him inside without requiring any unspoken cues to do so. Once inside, Sesshoumaru made his way over to a set of benches that outlined the sunken pools and stood there, beckoning her over to him. She arrived at his side and looked to him expectantly, not having any idea what else he might have in store for her today.

"Undress me. We shall soak together." He stated simply enough.

Rin had no problem with performing this task. They were going to soak in soothing, warm water and at the moment, that was all she cared about. She easily undid the ties to his cloths and slipped the outer and inner shirts off his shoulders and placed them neatly on the benches next to them. Next, she set to work on the material covering his lower half. She was utterly surprised when the fabric slipped to the floor and revealed a fully aroused organ standing proudly between his thighs. The loose pants had hidden it effectively from her notice before but now it would be impossible not to notice.

Rin looked up at her lord with her astonishment still firmly in place on her face and took an involuntary step back. She'd had no idea that this would happen. He hadn't even touched her or himself. Her brow wrinkled slightly in thought. She was amazed at the apparent effect she had on him. He'd said `perhaps later' but this caught her completely by surprise. Did that mean he had been...just thinking about her?

And thinking about her is exactly what he had been doing for some time now. All throughout dinner he had watched as she placed each dainty morsel of food inside that small mouth of hers and the sight of it had quickly moved his thoughts to those less concerned with consuming food and more toward consuming the creature who'd been sitting next to him. He easily could have taken her right then but he was not an animal. He would not rut where he ate but he saw no problem in doing so where he bathed. In fact, he rather liked the setting. He was not surprised that she'd been taken off guard by his current physical state but he wanted her to understand the effect she now had on him.

Rin was still looking at him when he motioned her to step back to him. Once she had, he bent down and whispered hotly into her ear, causing her to shiver.

"Now undress yourself for me." With that said he stepped back and set down gracefully on the bench behind him.

Though he had seen her naked a hundred times and had only recently taken a particular interest in her naked form, this was the first time that she was to undress herself for that particular interest of his. Though it was a little nerve wracking and though she couldn't understand why, it also brought with it a tinge of excitement. It was a feeling she could now identify. Touching her body brought about the same sensations but she'd never experienced it fully clothed and untouched. The feeling actually gave her a small amount of courage. After all, in a small way, she was now in a position of control. He was hard because of her. Though at this command, she could undress herself in anyway she wished, as quickly or as slowly as she wished. The courage, the spark of desire, and her ingrained need to please him all combined to give her a sense of boldness she'd never experienced before in situations such as this.

She smiled lightly and with slightly exaggerated movements, she began to pull open the ties of her clothing. She allowed the V of open fabric to widen past the valley of her breasts and nearly to the apex of her thighs. She stopped when she heard a low growl emanate from the male seated in front of her. It was a sound that she had come to associate with his pleasure. It gave her even more courage and the clever, young side of her decided to play. Turning so that her back now faced him, she looked at one shoulder demurely and slid the fabric off, revealing the creamy flesh underneath. Another low growl. She then looked at the other shoulder and proceeded to reveal it in the same manner. Again, another low growl. Now she let the fabric fall to her waist but did not let it go any further as it gave him a pleasing view of her shapely hips and smooth back.

She didn't know where it came from but a small smirk crossed her lips and a devious little idea flitted through her mind. Letting the fabric fall away, she began to walk toward the steaming pools.

She didn't get very far however, as two steel arms wrapped around her delicate waist and pulled her into a hard chest.

"So you wish to play?" He whispered into her ear that he then nipped. Rin squeaked as she was hoisted into the air and dunked unceremoniously into the water of the enormous bath. She came broke the water's surface sputtering slightly but filled with the excitement of a young girl caught up in a silly game. So caught in the moment was she, that she forgot exactly who it was she now played with and didn't even stop to imagine just how such a creature would, in fact, play.

She immediately scanned the perimeter of the pool where Sesshoumaru should have been but saw nothing. She then spun in a quick circle in order to search the rest of the room but met with no success at finding the elusive youkai. Still treading water and still attempting to find him, she screamed in surprise and delight as she felt one of her ankles grasped firmly. She pulled in a deep breath as she instinctively readied herself for what she knew would happen next. The hand gave a downward tug and she once again found herself submerged below the surface of the bath's water. Not a moment later, she was pulled back to the surface and pushed into a shallower portion of the pool.

Sesshoumaru wasted no time in hoisting the young woman onto the edge and in positioning himself between thighs he easily parted.

Rin felt the mood change instantly and gasped as clawed hands sensually scrapped little circles around her buttocks. "My lord!" She gasped out at the thrilling sensation.

He stopped his teasing ministrations and with one hand, lifted her chin to look up into his eyes.

"Sesshoumaru." He said before he crashed his lips down onto hers. He slipped the other hand down to the apex of her legs to check her for readiness. He was pleased to find her slick despite the short trip she'd spent in the water, courtesy of him of course. He guided his length to her entrance and eased himself inside her willing body. He took his time stroking into her today and paid due attention to her more sensitive areas. Her moans and coos were swallowed by his hungry mouth.

Rin just let herself go. Not once did she think about the negative things she usually did when they began such activities. This time she simply let herself enjoy his attentions. She tentatively placed her arms around his neck and even tangled one small hand into his impossibly silky mane.

When he broke his contact with her mouth and buried his head in her neck, she knew he was close. His pace quickened but never to anything fevered. Every stroke was measured and precise as were the ministrations of his clever fingers that were quickly bringing her to the brink of that blissful feeling as well.

Rin tightly shut her eyes as the sensual convulsions overtook her body. Sesshoumaru too met his ending inside the trembling female that milked his for all he was worth. Still panting, he pulled her spent body to sit in the water with him. Rin happily rested against the edge of the pool and him, letting the warm water lull her into a sexual induced stupor. Groggily, she determined that she would avoid Jaken in order to hold onto the delicious feeling she now felt.


End file.
